iRobot Vacuum and Mop Combo Review

IRobot's latest Combo j7+ robot is the first combined vacuum and mop. It's akin to an Roomba and offers similar rug-smashing capabilities, however the mop is self-filling and compatible with more cleaning solutions.

If you request it to mop using the iRobot Home voice assistant or app, a little robot arm will rise out from the base. The mops only activate when the robot detects that it's on a floor that's hard, and they avoid drag across carpets and rugs.

The following are some examples of

A robot vacuum and mop is a handy tool to keep floors clean without relying on the use of a broom or a Swiffer. It is able to remove sticky messes, and keep grime at bay. This means that you don't need to worry about mess accumulating in areas with high traffic, such as kitchens or mudrooms. It also does a much better job of cleaning hard floors than a vacuum on its own and it does it completely automatically.

Most irobot vacuum/mop combos can be used on carpets and robotvacuummops hard floors, so they're an excellent choice for homes with multiple flooring kinds. The best models have features that allow you to determine how often and how powerfully the robot cleans. Some also include automatic emptying and can be controlled by voice.

The j7 Combo+ is iRobot’s most well-known robot vacuum and mop. It can be converted into an all-in-one robot cleaner by pressing one button. It has the same advanced obstacle-avoidance technology as the j7, plus the latest irobot roomba onboard acoustic sensors to determine the type of floor. The mop will only go over solid flooring such as tile or wood when it is in mop mode. It will not go over carpeting. I tried to fool the j7 Combo+ repeatedly into deploying over a carpet, but it always went back and started where it had left off.

As with most combo robots it's a bit slow to pick up fine dust that vacuums can miss however, it does an excellent job of getting rid of dried milk stains. It also has a convenient mopping pad that's easy refill.

The J7 Combo+ is a little less expensive than other robot vacuum and mop combos, but it's still quite expensive for a basic device. It has a short battery life and water tank, so it needs to return to its dock and recharge it between every cleaning session. You'll also need to manually move the machine into a new room for each Revolutionize cleaning with the iRobot Roomba j7+ session. Its small size and the absence of an option to schedule it means that it can only clean up 200 square feet.

Design

The app lets you schedule and track cleaning chores and also create "clean zones" and "keep out zones". You can control robots using the app or by voice control using the smart speaker of your choice. Many robots have multiple modes of operation and some can even detect obstacles for navigation.

Contrary to some vacuum and mop combinations which aren't able to perform both tasks well, the Combo j9+ does impressively at both, removing embedded crumbs, fur, and dirt. It also makes use of SmartScrub, which scrubs the floor using constant pressure and back and forth motions in order to eliminate difficult messes such as coffee and grime. Dirt Detective, which learns from previous cleaning mission, prioritizes the rooms with more dirt so that they get thorough cleaning.

The Combo j7+ comes with a mopping mechanism that lifts the pad when it comes into contact with carpet or area rugs. This prevents the rugs from getting wet, and makes cleaning them simpler. It's also the first combination robot that is able to mop and vacuum all types of floors which makes it a great alternative for people with a mix of soft and hard floors.

The Combo J7+ appears like the regular Roomba j7 robot vacuum with a sleek black plastic body and a brushed aluminum circular top piece bearing the iRobot logo. The water reservoir is in the rear and the mop pad is at the bottom. The app will notify you when the tank has to be filled or emptied.

The Combo J9+ is compatible with your home's WiFi network. It also comes with sensors to aid in navigation and obstacles avoidance. It collects usage data, such as the frequency of its movements around the home, as well as mapping and image data, but doesn't use this information to sell or share it with other parties without your permission. On its website, the company's Privacy Principles can be found.

Cleaning Performance

A quality robot vacuum and mop combination can save you a lot of time and keep your floors in a relatively well-maintained condition for the majority of time. You'll still need to take out a traditional mop for hard-to-clean spots or stains that are particularly dirty however this is much less frequently than you would otherwise have to do with a separate vacuum cleaner or a standard bucket of water and a brush. It's an excellent solution for areas that are prone to traffic or have a lot of mess such as bathrooms, kitchens and bathrooms and mudrooms.

If you need more advanced cleaning performance think about a mopping robot. These use a microfiber, a reservoir of only clean water and a scrubby motion to get rid of dirt. They're more efficient than a vacuum. Some of these, like our top pick for upgrades the Braava Jet m6, also inject detergent into the pad for a deeper clean.

The biggest drawback of a machine that only mops is that it can't perform any work on carpets or area rug. If a robot encounters these surfaces while in vacuum and mop mode, it will lower the pad in order to keep they wet. This also means that it cannot navigate around them unless you have created 'clean zones' and keep-out zones' in the application.

Combination robots are better at this, particularly our top choice for the Braava j7 from iRobot+ Combo. It operates similarly to a regular j7 vacuum, however, it comes with a built-in wet mop that it uses when it detects hard flooring. It's a little more aggressive than other combo robots in crossing rugs and thresholds, but it still backs up when it comes across them, instead of trying to mop over them.

If you want to be hands-free, you will need an automated cleaner that can learn the layout of your home and navigate between rooms on its own (our upgrade choice is the iRobot Jet m6) or a combination cleaner that uses lidar for navigation (like the Roborock S5 Max). You might also have to create "clean zones" and "keep-out zones within the app so that it knows the exact location of furniture.

Cost

A robot vacuum that also acts as a mop is a ideal way to scrub your floors. However, it's more expensive than a standalone vacuum cleaner or a dedicated mop robot. The cost will depend on whether you're looking for a top-of-the-line model with mapping technology that lets it discover the design of your home and clean every room with no battery power. This feature is a must-have if you have rugs and carpets in your home and the newer Ecovacs Deebot X2 Omni or Roborock S8 Pro Ultra are the best models with this feature.

Another thing to consider is the dimensions of your floors and how many rooms you must vacuum and mop. Smaller rooms will require a more compact robot, and you may be able to make do with a less expensive robot that mops or vacuums but doesn't have the two capabilities. For example iRobot's Combo J7+ is an upgrade choice that bundles a dedicated mop robot with its most rated Roomba vacuum, and costs a fraction of the price of a standalone mop robot like the Braava Jet M6.

The Combo j7 Plus includes iRobot’s Clean Station which automatically empties the dirty mop-water from the cleaning tank once it's full. The base isn't included in the standard j7 model and must be purchased separately, which partly explains the combo robot's price of $1,099.

The J7+ is a stylish, modern-looking vacuum-mop hybrid. It's style is similar to Roomba's i7 vacuum. It does, however, not have some of the key features other mop-only bots have. For instance, it does not have the same suction of 8,300Pa that iRobot's vacuums offer. It does not come with the automatic mop pad cleaning feature, which is increasingly common in premium mop robots. But, you can purchase an add-on for the j7+ that will wash the mop pad even when you're not using it. This will keep the pads from drying out and becoming messy. In addition the J7+ is a great value and is among the best robots to clean your floors.